KAMPALA (REUTERS) - Ugandan forces have killed a former bodyguard of Joseph Kony, a sign they are closing in on the fugitive rebel leader wanted for war crimes, an army commander said on Monday.

Dick Olum, who commands a regional task force hunting the head of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), said the bodyguard, who went by the name of Brigadier Binani, was killed near the town of Djema in eastern Central African Republic.

"We encountered Brigadier Binani late on Thursday last week and in the ensuing clash his unit dispersed but we managed to kill him in action," Olum told Reuters.

"Every day we are closing in on Kony and when you have such an encounter with his former bodyguard, it is a very strong sign and encouragement that success is in our grasp." He did not say when Binani had ceased to work as Kony's bodyguard.